Beaten, Abused Tortured and Shot
by Alice Gone Madd
Summary: Bella is abused by her parents. At 16 she runs away. A year later she's fired from her job, and shot the same day. What if the Cullens find her? Cannon pairings. Cullen's are vampires. Rated M coz i'm paranoid. the belongs to Skeletal Dragon helping him Finishes it
1. Chapter 1

BPOV

Damned, annoying, pernickety, money-loving bosses and their determination not to give it to anyone, even the people that work for them! 'We cant keep you on, we don't have enough money to pay you' HAH! Maybe if you stop wearing clothes that cost half a million per suit I'll believe you!

My rent was up today, and now I had no money to pay for anymore. So I grabbed my singular bag, and whatever food I had left, and walked away. I had no idea where I was planning to go, and I still don't.

What happened then was a familiar figure stepped out form the alley and pointed a gun at me and HE SHOT THE FUCKING THING!

Pain, pain, pain, and a big bit more pain went darting through my shoulder and my leg. I don't think he really intended to kill me, he's a cop, he has better aim than that surely.

Anyway, I blacked out thankfully. Pain used to be my constant companion, but we're not on very good terms recently since I abandoned him about a year ago. I have a feeling he wants reunion.

I woke up in a painstakingly white room. There was a loud and equally painful beeping. It was a hospital.

I'd only ever been in one twice, once when I was born, traumatic enough, and the second was my first stop after I ran away, far more traumatic.

"Ah, your awake. Alice will be happy." I heard a smooth voice say. I'm assuming by the long white coat he was my doctor, but the only time I could imagine him being a doctor was on TV.

"Alice?" I questioned.

"Yes, my daughter. Ever since I told her you had no family listed or anywhere to go she's been determined I adopt you, seeing as you are still only 17." he said.

I started to go through that un my head, weighing up the pro's and con's, but the doc stopped me. "You don't have to think about that right now, it's at least another couple of days before we can move you."

"Can I see Alice? Before I even think about being adopted I'd like to see my prospective sibling." I said smiling. Alice, it was a nice name. The only Alice I knew was, great to say the least, the most could not be put into words. Unfortunately, my only real friend was killed in a drive by. The caught the guys, and they're currently rotting in jail, and I so want to just kill them, but she wouldn't want me to. Revenge gets you nothing.

"Well, if its prospective siblings you want to meet, there's a lot more than just Alice." he said, still smiling as well.

"How many more?"

"4 more, Esme and I adopted Alice and Jasper from different families and they're now in a relationship, it's the same story with Rosalie and Emmett, but Edward is still alone. I worry about him sometimes." he said, his frown fading a bit. "Alice dragged them into the waiting room, if you'd like I could send them in? There's not much I really can do anymore, it's just the waiting part of healing now."

"Sure." I said, and before the good doc even turned, a bouncy pixie-ish girl bounced in, dragging a blond haired boy, who seemed to be grinning despite himself.

A very, very, VERY large guy came in, along with a slightly unwilling blonde beauty. And last, but oh so certainly not least, was a bronze haired GOD!

Nice, but looks aren't everything, I mean, Charlie was a cop, and he still beat me, a chief no less, so this man may be a doctor, but he could still beat me. Although, I think he might have a problem with the big dude, so that's unlikely. Unless the big dude helps. Or Esme, who I'm assuming is the good doc's wife, is a wrestler or a body-builder or something and stronger than the big dude.

Meh! Who cares, there is a reason I started working out and learning how to fight after I ran away. I probably couldn't afford it, but it was necessary.

"HI! I'm Alice, that's Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward. I know we're going to be great friends, sisters!" she seemed really happy at that. It seemed genuine. Not even Charlie managed to pull that off, and I never could, unless it was real. That enthusiasm could not be faked.

I liked her, she reminded me of the other Alice, but it wasn't painful when I thought about it. I smiled, remembering the good times with her, instead of her death.

Okay, so I officially liked Alice, I could believe what she said, but the others? Although, if we go by all is not what it seems, then the bug guy, who looks scary as hell, he might be a teddy bear, rather than a grizzly.

"Hello, Earth to Bella." the pixie said shaking her hand in front of my face.

"O, sorry, just, memories."

"Good ones I hope." Edward said, the good doc had already left. What is his name!?

"Would I be smiling otherwise?" I asked still smiling. I probably shouldn't have said that, they might not beat me in a hospital, but Charlie, on those occasions I was allowed in public, would make mental note of all my 'digressions' and beat me accordingly.

"She's got you there." the bug guy, Emmet boomed. He just didn't fit the bill for abusive. None of them so far, although the blonde, Rosalie, didn't seem in the best of moods right now.

"Soooo, do you want us to adopt you?" Alice asked.

"Do I have much of a choice?" I asked her.

"Well, I suppose not legally, you don't really have to want us to adopt you for us to adopt you, and Esme wants to, Carlisle wants to, I really really want you too let us -"

"And if Alice wants you, Jasper will go along with." Emmett interrupted.

"And Emmett wants you as well, and Rose'll come around. She's just in a huff because the part she needs for her BMW is delayed."

"well, you are quite frankly to cheery to have been beaten, or to beat someone else, not sadistic enough, so I guess I'm in." I said.

"Why would you worry about being beaten?" Rosalie asked.

I didn't particularly want to tell them I couldn't stand the pity, I might tell them later, once I know whether or not, then I'd know if the pity was real or faked, and I'd be able to stand it.

So I said, "I'm paranoid, what can I say? I had a friend named Alice, my best friend, she was beaten, she was killed in a drive by, it was her own parents." that was actually true, she's the one who taught me to bear the beatings. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?

Alice looked like she was about to cry now. "Oh man, I'm so sorry, it must be painful to even hear my name."

"Don't worry about it, I remember the good times, when she was alive, rather than when and how she died." I said.

"Oh, I'm sorry anyway. So do you want us to adopt you or not?"

"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if you already had though."

"Close, I got Esme to do that right now. In 5 minutes you will officially be a Cullen." she said, happy once again.

"So do you want to pick anything up from your house, or what?" Rosalie asked me. She might not be that bad.

"Depends, how did you find me?"

"We heard gun shots and came running. We found you, passed out on the ground with two bullet holes in you. We took you to the hospital along with your bag, but Alice threw the food out, declaring you wouldn't need it." Edward said, a worried look on his face, as if he cared already.

"Well, I guess I wont need it, and if you took my bag then that's everything."

"What? Nothing else?" Jasper asked astonished.

"I'd just been fired, the guy in the thousand dollar suits didn't have enough money to give me a few dollars a week to work for him, so I had no money to pay my rent. And then I was shot." they seemed at the very least shocked at the blasé way I talked about it.

"Do you know who it was that shot you?" Emmett asked bluntly.

"Right at this very second, it's a little fuzzy."

"That…is…wow." I couldn't find the proper words for their house, although mansion would be more appropriate.

"Yep, and my wife Esme designed it all." Carlisle said from beside me. Esme was in the house waiting for us, along with everyone else. Because Carlisle was a doctor he could treat me form home. I had refused a wheel chair. They made me feel far to vulnerable, so Carlisle had carried me before I even realised what he was doing.

It could have been worse I suppose.

"Hello dear." Esme said as, well, Carlisle walked in. over the last few days I had gotten to know them all, and they did indeed seem wonderful. They were like family already to me.

"Hello Esme. Hi guys." I said, smiling. I was suspiciously cheery for being carried. The only time I had ever been carried was when I was unconscious and Charlie and Renee were chaining me up. I couldn't help it as a shiver ran through me.

Carlisle assumed that it was because I was cold and offered to take me up to my room. I would have been surprised at that, a room, to myself, but Alice was involved.

I did need a nap, so I consented.

I was left to my own devices, Alice had put me in pyjamas, so I did indeed nap.

As I slept, I remembered who shot me. It didn't put me in the best of moods, to say the least. I hobbled my way downstairs, my friend Pain hadn't left me yet and I was getting used to having him around again.

"Bella! You shouldn't be down here, your leg…" Edward exclaimed. I will admit, I had come to like him. A lot. Or more than a lot.

"Meh! Do you have a punching bag?"

"Yes, but your arm." Carlisle said. I have to be careful or I'll start calling him dad in the next, couple of hours? I suppose it wouldn't be that bad, he did adopt me.

"Then I'll use my other arm." I said.

"What do you need a punching bag for?" Emmett asked.

"what is this, twenty questions? I need it to vent. Bad mood, vent to the punching bag."

"I'll go with her, make sure she doesn't hurt herself." Edward said. I was quite glad for that, although he would hear my venting. If shove comes to push, he hears. Nothing I can do to stop it.

"Okay, then, lead the way." I said to him.

And he did, even gave me gloves. Actually he only gave me one, but I can work with it.

"Damned, fucking, two-bit, yellow-bellied, lily-livered, thrice-cursed, god-forsaken, devil-worshipping, bastardised son of a motherfucking bitch! Screws aren't enough! Fucking sledge-hammers aren't enough! Locks obviously don't work! Chains aren't tight enough! Spiders and the snakes not scary enough! Whip not thin enough! Knives not sharp enough! No, you've got to fucking shoot me!" I think I might be done.

Edward seemed extremely glad, he winced in sympathetic pain with every blow I struck on the poor punching bag. I had hit it like I would if I ever saw Charlie and Renee again. The chain it was hanging from,, one of the links had sort of, separated. It was close to falling off.

"please tell me your finished." he basically begged.

I laughed, now in an exceptionally good mood, "yes, I think so. Was that painful for you to watch?" I teased.

"Yes, exceptionally. I was close to pulling you away before you hit it the first time." he said, very seriously.

"oh loosen up! that's what the punching bag was for, maybe you should try." I said, still smiling.

He smiled as well, and gave the punching bag a small flick, and it fell off the broken link. "I think the punching bags out."


	2. Chapter 2

After Edward simply lightly pushed the punching bag and down it went, he led me back upstairs and asked me if I was tired. I really wasn't.

"I've spent the last few weeks lying in a hospital bed. Why on Gods green Earth would I be tired after that."

"But we have better beds than the hospital." he tried to argue. No matter what he said he wasn't going to convince me. It wasn't even 8.

"You have better beds than I do for Gods sake!" listening to me you wouldn't have thought I was afraid I might be beaten for it. Or maybe it just made me more defiant. "Or did, I suppose since I couldn't pay the rent."

"They shouldn't have let you pay it. You aren't legally allowed."

"They didn't ask, they didn't know, and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell them now was I?!" how did this turn into an argument about my/not my apartment?

"You could have gone to an orphanage." I just looked at him as if we were crazy. I was still doing it as I sat down somewhere.

This just led my thoughts on, and I started muttering some parts aloud as well. This was me creating my full theory on their possible beating me. Because, "they might" be collecting all my discretions "as Charlie put it" and beat me later "after I've healed" but if "they had experience" they would take advantage of my infirm state, "and they probably have practice with 5 kids" but then there is Emmett "he's too huge" to be beaten by anyone here, "not even Charlie and Renee could" and they were professionals among professionals. Or maybe they're all going to. Beat me that is. Maybe that's why they adopted me. "Dear God I make it sound like a sport." I said the last part rather loudly though. "I'd make a great conspiracy theorist."

"It's not the aliens you need to worry about." Emmett said with an evil grin. He was obviously joking, I realised that after. It's just, the favourite expression of Charlie and Renee was evil smirks, gleers, and grins. I've always wanted to punch it. And when I can, I do. Making an evil facial expression around me is a sure fire way to get punched in the face. And I did, I punched Emmett in the face.

And can I just tell you that he has one HARD HEAD! On he plus side, he was actually wincing. My fist hurt, but I didn't pay it any attention. I didn't try to numb the pain, like Skullduggery Pleasant says, to feel pain is to know you're alive, I pride myself in being alive. I don't block out the pain, I deal with it.

"I'm actually sorry I did that bro." did I just say bro? did I just say it and not realise I said it? I'm crazy. And I shall prove it to you! By muttering to myself…

"Hello Pain, haven't seen you in a while. I missed you the other day, where were you? Giving me the silent treatment are you, uh huh." I said to my still clenched fist. It was really the pain I was talking to though. "Oh well," I added. "Be that way, go do what ever it is you do when you don't want to see me then. Go on! See if I care!" I said to my unclenching fist as the pain subsided to a pleasant calm. I guess I just deal with it differently than other people do.


	3. Chapter 3

"That actually hurt." Emmett said surprised.

"Hey! I may be small, that don't mean I ain't strong!" I complained, accidentally slipping slightly back into my native southern drawl. (yes, she's Texan in my story, I like Jasper okay. Still ExB)

Jasper looked surprised slightly, but I was concentrating on Emmett's blatant insult. "I didn't…s'just…"

"I've been shot so I'm supposedly not strong enough to be able to hurt you?" I suggested, my drawl not going anywhere.

Edward let out a sharp bark of laughter before slapping his hand over his mouth. Emmett asked him what was up. He was obviously still trying not to laugh, and nodded his head in the direction of where we had come from. Damn him!

"I didn't break it!" I tried to defend myself. He gave me a look. "It was rusty?" I tried. I didn't really notice, it might have been true.

"Mum wouldn't let it get rusty." he said.

"The metal was thin." I had no idea, but it might have been.

"You don't seriously believe that, do you?"

"Okay, no. You obviously have to much money to go cheap on a punching bag that Emmett must use."

"Actually, he doesn't. He kept bugging mum about it, but e never used it."

"So you're telling me, that it was new, strong, in perfect condition and never been used, and I broke it?" he nodded, about to start laughing again. I guess I don't blame him to much, I can see my expression in the mirror, and if it weren't for the reason I was making it I would have laughed too.

Emmett burst back into the room, gaping slack jawed at me until booming out, "What did you do to it?!"

"It was a joint effort." it was worth a try. "Edward punched it and I knocked it off."

It just didn't work. Edward coughed pointedly at me. "Okay, Edward did all the breaking." I had to keep trying didn't I?

He coughed again. "Jeezo! Have you got a cold or something?!" okay, I will admit that has, like, no chance of working.

He abandoned the attempt at being subtle and trying to coax me into telling the truth, and told it himself. I was glaring at him all the while. "Bella broke the link, and after she was finished she told me I looked to tense and told me I should try the punching bag to relax. I gave it a tap and it fell off the broken link." I would have hit him if Esme hadn't had me held to her side and Alice didn't have a hold of my waist on the other side.

Although, Emmett's face was rather amusing. I could have sworn his jaw was going to fall off sometime soon. He looked like a cartoon. "Ermm…bro? You alive in there?" I said, then realised what I said. "Damn! I did it again."

He suddenly shook himself, to ask, "Did what again?"

"Called you bro." I said quietly. To be honest with myself, I was scared. He was so huge, what if he didn't like me calling him bro? from the looks of things, I hurt myself as much as I hurt him. I have no physical advantage, and I just lost any other advantage I had.

By then he had walked over to the other side of the couch and was facing me. He ran towards with his arms held out. "GAH! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." like that would work. He took no notice of my pleas and plucked me from the grip of mum and- Esme and Alice's grip. I seriously need to get a hold on that. And then he…hugged me. Tightly, I will admit, but he hugged me, and I could still just about breath.

"Emmett, remember, she's still healing." Carlisle said.

"That, and you probably scared her half to death with that stunt!" m-ESME, scolded gently.

"Sorry Bellsie." he said, but the only difference their 'scolding' made was that he didn't hold me quite so hard. I tried to hug him back as best I could, ignoring the pain jolting through my arm from the bullet wound. I had only known them a week, right?

Jazz, damn I'm doing it again, I noticed, looked slightly strange. It was just the mix of emotions on his face that made him seem so. Surprise, love, a little pain, and that look you get after a scare, like your afraid what scared you isn't gone, or you're not sure what scared you in the first place. Trust me, I know that look well, it used to be my favourite expression, I'm sure it probably looked something like scared relief, I wore it whenever Charlie and Renee ended the days torture. Of course, they always did it with a red hot poker, pressing it to each wound to stop it getting infected, though they assured me that it wasn't in any way because they cared, like I would ever think that, they just didn't want me getting ill and ruining their fun. Because of the need for the red hot poker, there was always a fire burning in the basement, it was a weird design, and now because of it I almost completely hate the warm.

I was jolted from my musings by my landing on the couch. Emmett had put me back down between Al and mum. This just isn't working. Mum, may as well just give in, had her legs up beside her, and put her cold arm around me to pull me to her side, and Al, it had been my nickname for the other Alice, she had been like my sister, Al lay on me with her arms wrapping around my waist. I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

I'm not even going to insult them with thoughts of impending beating.

Rose, thankfully this was what she had asked me to call her and not a nickname I had unintentionally made up for her, looked like something had suddenly occurred to her.

"Mum, don't you need to call the school to tell them about Bella?"

"Yeah, but I'll call tomorrow, before Bella starts so there wont be as much gossip. And God knows there will be."

Cool, something new everyday. Today I break a punching bag, and tomorrow I go to school.

"You've never been to school before?" Al asked shocked. Everyone else looked to her confused.

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Actually, you more like mouthed it." Everyone else had looks of realisation, they probably wondered why they hadn't heard as well. "But, you've never been to school?"

"Lets just say I had more…pressing matters at the time." like trying not to scream, to not give them any satisfaction at seeing my discomfort, or at least as little as possible. Maybe that's why they didn't seem quite so, watchful I guess, I wasn't screaming any more, maybe they wanted rid of me so they could start again.

Although, why did Charlie shoot me then? Maybe they had moved to Alaska and just found me there and thought to shoot me, give me one last torture. I suppose this makes no sense, how did I meet the Cullens in Alaska and come to live with them in Forks, miles upon miles away? They had been visiting friends, and when they heard the shots, Al had urged dad, I'm not going to be able to stop that am I?, to be my doctor, and then adopt me and take me back to Forks with them, as you would do if you had just adopted someone. Make sense now?

I started to smile even wider now as I thought of Charlie and Renee, not as far away, but still really far away from me. I was still smiling when Al started waving her hand in front of my face. Actually…I think she's been doing it for a while now.

"BELLA!" she shouted at me. OW!

"ALICE!" I shouted at her.

"DO YOU WANNA WATCH HERCULES RETURNS?!"

"YES!" then we both cracked up laughing.

Dad was looking worriedly at me about 5 minutes after we started laughing. Al was still laughing, and so was I, I hadn't had a good laugh in so long. I sat up and made an attempt to look serious. It didn't work, Ali and I started laughing again.

"Okay, okay, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm calm, I'm fine." I said as I stopped laughing. "What's got you so wound up dad." then I whacked myself in the head with my palm. I keep doing that! Then I whacked myself with my good arm for whacking myself with my bad one. Then I rested my head in my heads in frustration at myself. Ali was giggling at me again.

"Okay, I say again, why do you look so worried?" I asked dad, I did it again, and stopped before I could call him dad again out loud. I'm sure he was probably tempted to say 'you're mental health'.

"Your wounds, I'd really like to check them. I'm worried you may have made them worse, especially if you used enough force on that punching bag to break a link." he was sitting on a two seater all on his lonesome, since mum, gargh! Had moved to beside me, so I moved to beside him so he could check the devil inflicted wounds.

"I'm sure you must also be worried for my mental health as well as my physical." I said as he unwrapped the bandages.

"Only mildly." he said with a smile. How could I have thought he would purposely try to hurt me? Although how do you accidentally try to hurt someone?

"Only a little? Would you be more worried if you knew I keep calling you guys endearing names in my head?"

"No, I'd be very happy."

"Why?

"Because then it means you trust us."

"Damn, I think I do."

"You say it like it's a bad thing."

"I do not!"

"It certainly sounds that way."

"I just haven't trusted anyone before, other than Alice Monk before." too bad her parents were the opposite of monks.

"Not even your birth parents?"

"I might, if they had done anything to deserve it."

"With family it should be unconditional." he said, frowning slightly.

"There are conditions for hating your parents. Actually, that doesn't make much sense to me, so just ignore it." I said, and we all smiled again, the last few minutes in the past now, that and Hercules Returns had started.

I'll tell them on Friday, how, I don't know, but I will.


	4. Chapter 4

"Did you guys have a paintball fight in here or something?" I asked incredulously, taking in the room before me. They told me it was going to be mine. IT WAS FREAKIN' HUGE!

"Do you not like it?" Alice worried. "If you don't, I can paint over it."

I looked at her like she was freakin' crazy. "Ali my dear girl, ignore the last four words I just said and listen to the next ones, this room is freakin' cool, don't change a freaking thing." I told her. What is it with me? This is out of control, I swear.

"I wont change a thing." she said, bouncing happily away.

"And what were the first four words I said?" I asked.

"Ignore the last four." she answered grinning at me. "Although, I had absolutely no problems with it."

"I do. My brain to mouth filter's still developing, I want to train it a bit more." I said happily. Although, I have to stop with the nicknames, seriously, at least until I've known them for a bit longer. Ah! To hell with it. I've known them three weeks while I was lying in that hospital bed, that's long enough.

I took a running jump towards the king sized bed, and twisted in the air to land on my back. Oh my god, this mattress is so comfy! Far better than chains and a burning basement wall. Honestly, what basements are almost literally boiling?! Thee ones with huge fireplaces in them of course, but why would you have one?! If you weren't totally sick and twisted, of course. I'll just stop with that train of thought, it's really not working out for me.

"Sleep. Sleep might work." I murmured to myself as I fell asleep. I didn't even know I was tired. And I'm lying on the covers. But I'm almost asleep…

Is it ironic to say the peacefulness woke me up? My usual nightmares, you can probably guess what those were, WEREN'T THERE! For once in my life, I've slept peacefully. That made me more than just happy. That was almost…euphoric. I lay for a while longer with my arms and legs spread out, and still not able to reach the side of the bed, I loved it.

I turned my head to see the time on the paint splattered clock, seriously, what did they do in here?! It was actually pretty early, only half six. But, I have been told I'm starting school today. When does that start again?

Alice came bounding cheerily into the room, Jasper following close behind, quite obviously trying to calm her.

"Alice! She only just got here last night, calm down a little." he said. Ali just bounced away from him and over to me, holding a pile of clothes. It doesn't look like some strange torture device, except for the heels.

"I didn't know what kind of clothes you liked to wear, so I brought three different outfits." she said as she lay them all out on the bed.

"You have no idea what it took to get her to choose only three." Jasper said.

I laughed, mostly at Alice's antics about clothes, and grabbed the outfit that had light blue ripped jeans and red t-shirt underneath a ripped black one. I liked the clothes, and the converse that went with them weren't absolute death traps.

Alice looked very happy with my choice, and ushered Jazz out of the room. Then she lead me to the bathroom I didn't even know was here. It was right next to the huge closet. A huge, full closet. Full of clothes, in my size. I suppose I did already figure that she was a shopaholic.

"Despite what Jazzy says, I'm not going to go overboard."

"So your going to stay on the ship, but what are you going to do?" I asked warily.

"Give you a mini makeover of course!" she said happily. "Nothing to much though, your very pretty already, so just some foundation, lip-gloss and eye shadow. Actually, no, just foundation and lip-gloss." and then she started talking to herself about what she was going to do to me, while she was doing it. Forgive if that worried me a little.

In the end though, it looked good, and she had stopped talking to herself. I think.

"Alice, what the heck are you talking about?"

"Shopping!" she exclaimed. "You, me, and Rose are going shopping at the weekend." extreme shopaholic.

I just nodded, why argue?, and headed for the door with the intention of calling for help. Why argue when you can get someone else to calm the pixie?

I had a slight problem though. My room was on the top floor, and the top floor was four storeys up. Emmett had carried me up last night. So, I slid down the banister. It was such a long banister, it was just begging to be slid down. That probably sounds really wrong, but I just had to.

Thankfully, this was one of those banisters that you can just slide straight off the edge. Which I did. And I crashed into Edward. The way we landed, I ended up sitting on his chest.

"Now that, was fun." I told him grinning widely. Then I started shaking. I looked down amusedly. Edward was laughing as well.

"Are you laughing at me?" I asked in mock offence.

"I cant laugh? What has the world come to!" he cried in a mock outburst.

I laughed at him and got off of him, grabbing onto Emmett's outstretched hand for help. "Thanks Em."

He was grinning at me. Then, he hugged me again. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but why am I being hugged?"

"You survived Alice." he said with a smile evident in his voice. "And, that was so cool!"

"Ah, so you admire me for my way of getting down the stairs?" I teased as he let me down.

"Yeah, it's just a shame you cant do it going up the stairs." he said sadly. "Oh well, that means I get to carry you!"

"You say that like it's a really good thing." I said suspiciously.

"Maybe it is." he answered cryptically, then he scooped me up and carried me out to Edwards Volvo. It must be time for school then. Mum followed us, laughing, and opened the passenger door so Emmett could put me in.

"Alice kept you upstairs longer than I had hoped, so I made you a bagel for the way to school." she said as she kissed my forehead and handed me the bagel. "Just don't drop it or Edward will throw a hissy fit." I had to laugh at that, though Edward frowned at her as he got in the car.

Alice and Jasper got in the car with us, while Emmett and Rosalie took Emmett's jeep. I remember when I first saw it. I had asked if he was trying to make up for something.

"So…what now?" Jasper asked.

"Starting the car would be nice." I said, looking pointedly at Edward.

"We would get there a lot faster." Alice added.

And he started the car. And started driving really really fast. I looked over at the speedometer and raised my eyebrows. 125mph.

"Are you trying to make a world record or something? 'fastest person to get to school that doesn't want to go.'?" I asked.

"Not quite." he answered smiling.

"Nah! Usually he goes faster than this." Jasper told me, as if he was wondering how I would react.

I just sat there and grinned. I liked fast. I really loved very fast. But, all too soon we pulled into the car park of Forks High. That was the one drawback to very very fast.

I groaned and got out of the car. Seconds later, Edward was there, complaining to me about not letting him be a gentleman and open the door for him. I replied, telling him that the last time anyone had given a damn about me, I had been fired from my job and shot. I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stop myself from adding, 'by my father'.

This started an argument between, well, all of us, about people who give a damn whether I die or not. Or something along those lines.

Due to the fact that the Cullen's seem to be descended from NASCAR drivers, we were the first ones here. So I had plenty of time to be shown around the school. I now knew where all of my classes were, what they were, and which Cullen I had it with, because there was one in every class I assure you.

When the bell rang, I made my way to English with Mr Mason. I had that class with Edward. I found it quite amusing that our teachers last name was Mason, and before the Cullen's adopted Edward his last name was Mason as well.

Although Mr Mason and Edward looked nothing alike, good for Edward because Mr Mason was definitely not a looker.

Lucky for me, we were starting a new book today. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I had read the original, and that was good, I had read Pride and Prejudice, and that was better. Whenever I wasn't working or working out, or going for some extra money at the bar, I was at the library. This would be a walk in the park.

Okay, rephrase. This will be like a walk in the [ark with no bullet wounds, or any other wounds for that matter.

And the day continued on in much the same manner. With me going to classes, and an annoying girl named Jessica who was under the impression I actually liked her although as far as I could tell, my demeanor towards her was not in the remote friendly. She even followed me to the lunch line.

I couldn't take much more of her blabbering, so I asked her who a group of people were, just to get her to stop going on and on about Brad Pitt. He was hot, I will admit, but she practically stalked him judging by the way she was talking.

"Oh. Those are the Cullen's. They're all like dating, and they all like live together. Its like totally gross. And Edwards like single, but don't even like bother like trying. He doesn't like, go for any one like here." dear god I will murder her.

"I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about the group of girls sitting by their table. They all look like complete sluts and whores. I mean, fake tan, fake boobs, fake blonde hair…the list goes on and on. Although, their unatractiveness is authentic." I said. Trying to keep the tone of murder form my voice. Murder is a bad thing Bella.

"Excuse me! Those are like my friends." she said affronted. I et she didn't even know what affronted meant.

"And that's exactly my point." I said to her before heading to sit with my family. Hmm. That's the first time I've actually called them family. Well, thought.

Then I felt someone try to pull me back. Try being the operative word, but I turned any way. It was her again. Can she not get the point!?

"Where do you think your going?" she said angrily.

"Well, I could be looking for a date, I could be looking for a seat, or I could be looking for some decent company during lunch. All of which I am more likely to get than you."

"excuse me, I am like way more like likely to get a date from Edward than you." who the hell said I wanted a date with Edward? Although, it is appealing.

"If you seriously think that you can get a date, or even a seat over there for more three minutes, go and try. But you have to do whatever they say. Even if its go streaking around the school." oh please please please do that. Actually, don't. That would be far to disturbing.

I watched her walk towards them, shaking her hips so much that I could swear I you walked a foot on either side of her, you would be whacked out the way by her fake ass. I could see her loosening about all but one of the buttons on her shirt. She was pulling her skirt up, and it didn't even really cover anything anyway. She could have taken it off and no one would notice the difference.

Okay, so this was really quite funny. She was bending over, practically shoving her cleavage in Edwards face. God only knows what she was saying, and if I did know, I would probably fall over laughing, as it was it was hard to stop myself.

I actually couldn't stop myself when she practically launched herself at Edward and kissed him. I did indeed fall over. It was his expression! He obviously hated it! I'm guessing he told her to in polite terms to fuck off, and not him.

I only guess that because Jessica stormed towards me and stood over me glaring. She said, "I'd love to see you like try."

Ah the clueless bitch. I walked over, still laughing, and sat down beside Edward, really quite thankful that Jessica hadn't sat in it yet.

"Sorry Edward, I didn't think she'd kiss you." I said to him, still laughing, as was everyone other than Edward.

"Out of me Emmett and Jasper, she has to pick me." he muttered, clearly annoyed with his lack of luck in that area.

"Ack! Its only because she thinks Emmett and Jasper are disgusting because they're dating their adopted siblings." I said, in a bad effort to console him. "And because your cute."

"Cute. Is that all I am? Cute?!" he asked in mock outrage.

"Well if I said anything else it'd go to your head now wouldn't it?" I said, and once again, my drawl started to slip through. I'm obviously too relaxed around them. Although, I guess that isn't really a bad thing. But I do keep getting looks when my drawl does slip through. You'd think they'd have asked by now.

But, they shrugged it off again. Seriously, are they not the slightest bit curious?

"GAH!" I screamed as I was suddenly lifted into the air by Edward. "What was that for?!" I exclaimed semi-angrily.

"Well, you seemed a bit out of it, and I've got biology with you next, so…"

"So it seemed like a good idea?" I supplied. He nodded meakly. "Tell me next time." he laughed at that.

Thankfully, Ali had this class too, so she opened the door for us. I think Edwards intention was to put me down in my seat.

We didn't take any notice of the fact that we were a bit late, and Mr Banner was calling out the register. Right as we entered the class, I heard my name being called, so as Edward walked past, I waved my hand in front of the computer screen and said, "I'm here." cheerily. He hadn't even notice us getting in.

This class was weird, the seats were set out in threes, not twos, so I sat between Alice and Edward. I leaned over on Edward, and Alice leaned over on me. They obviously loved biology as much as I did. It would have been a bit more awkward if Edward wasn't leaning against the wall, or if we were all leaning against Alice.

The teacher was obviously not used to this kind of thing, and proceeded to shout at us, Edward and me mainly, because of Edward carrying me in. we just waited for him to finish, and that was a while because, man, he could talk for America, and I was the first to speak.

"Sir, with what little respect is due, I've been shot, do you expect me to walk across the entire school, just to get into your class on time and listen to the inevitably boring things you have to say?" he didn't speak, and everyone gaped slack-jawed at me. This must not be a common thing then. I don't see why, Biology is in my opinion, awful, and in plenty of other peoples opinions as well as far as I know.

The kids here have no backbone if they wont even tell the teacher they hate their class.

I shook my head sadly and had a nap on Edward for the rest of the lesson. When I woke up I was back in his arms headed for gym.

"Do you like carrying me or something?" I asked him sleepily. I have a lot of sleeping to catch up on, one good night of sleep just isn't going to cut it.

"Yeah, I guess I do when you put it like that. Why, does that bother you?" he asked me grinning. There's a lot of grinning and smiling.

"Actually, it does just a little. First Emmett, now you. Where does it end?!" I exclaimed in mock frustration. "Next Alice'll say she likes carrying me."

"I dunno. Never tried." she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Ali, even if you were strong enough, which to be honest I don't completely doubt, you wouldn't be able to see over me and then you'd probably crash us into something."

He was silent a minute before she said, "True."

"Yes, true, I have been known to be correct on occasion." something seemed to be bugging Edward, so I asked him what had his knickers in a twist.

"I do not wear knickers!"

"Maybe not, but you'd still be cute if you did."

"Gee, thanks." he said dryly, though there was a slight smile to it, and continued. "What makes you think Alice would be able to carry you?"

"Is that what's got your knickers knotted?"

"I don't particularly like that phrase, but yes." he was so cute when he pouted. Fine, I wont say he wears knickers anymore. I may just stop breathing if he keeps pouting like that.

"I think she would, because A) as far as I can tell she's on some sort of drug to make her that energetic 24/7, and B) I'm skin and bone and I know it." I blame Charlie and Renee for that. I was lucky if I got fed once a week, and it wasn't exactly a banquet either.

"And muscle." he added.

"What makes you say that?"

"You punched Emmett and it hurt didn't it? And you broke the punching bag by punching it."

"I still say that was rigged or something."

"Well, we're here. I don't have this class with you, so would you like to test your Alice theory?" he said grinning down at me. In way of answer, I jumped straight from his arms to and neatly in front of him, facing him. I am not going to admit that it hurt my leg though. Actually, it was throbbing, but I tried not to show it. I think it worked.

He laughed and gave me a hug before heading off in the other direction. "I still don't see why you guys keep insisting on carrying me." I said to Alice as we turned to get into the gym. Alice was going to sit out with me.

"Because you've been shot and it's not going to do your leg much good if you have to walk all over school is it?" she said, but it was after she said it that she started grinning.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Edward."

"Elaborate."

"schedule."

"More please."

"You."

"More than one word in a sentence."

"Edwards going to change his schedule."

"So where do I come in?" I asked, before realising the answer. "He's not going to do that, is he?" she nodded gleefully.

"Oh come on! Edwards going to get his schedule changed, so he can carry me to my classes?! Unbelievable…" I couldn't believe it. It was so strange to me.

"Actually, it's perfectly believable, since that's what he's doing after school." I'm not going to question how she knows that, out loud.

I mean, she didn't start her grinning and one word cryptic sentences until AFTER he left, which means she only knew AFTER he left, which means she's either guessing, or she's a freaking psychic.

The bell, rang, and as I left the class, I was inclined to think she was psychic. Edward was headed towards the office, and came back out with a piece of paper. Alice was grinning smugly beside me.

"I think I might kill him." I muttered. "Such a stupid ass thing to do."

"And how do plan to do that?" she asked, still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Find something to bribe Emmett with and a match to burn the evidence." I muttered as I headed towards him. Only because he was now standing by his car and he was my ride home, which was his home, so I'm stuck with him.

Not that that's a bad thing of course. Not at all.


	5. Chapter 5

I warn you, this chapter slowly deteriorates into Angels and Fearies, not just abuse that runs a mile past the line where it becomes torture.

_)(*&^%$£"!"£$%^&*()_

"I cant take it anymore!" Jasper shouted. This caused all of us to turn to face him. But after a minute or two, I realised what the problem was. We were still in the car, and Edward had been smiling while watching the road, as I suppose, he should. I had been glaring at him though for changing his schedule to carry me to my classes, and Alice had been grinning smugly the entire way.

"Hey, I did nothing!" I actually didn't. it was all Edward. And back comes my drawl. Whenever its just me and them, I revert back to my southern drawl. Its annoying.

"Then why are you glaring at Edward?" he had the look of someone who had just caught someone red-handed.

"Because he changed his schedule so he could carry me to class." and I went back to glare at him. "I don't know why Alice is so smug though." I started talking to myself mostly. "I wonder if she'd be so smug if she knew I knew they were married."

What happened was the smug grin disappeared, and reappeared on my face. "Did you think I didn't notice?"

Edward was staring at me now with a mix of surprise and adoration. Weird. "Edward? I have no problem with your dream of being a NASCAR driver, but can you watch the road while you do it?" I suggested. Although he probably knows the road inside out by now.

His eyes held amusement before they turned away, and I couldn't help a small stab of sadness at this. I didn't want him to look away. It was strange, so I turned back to Jasper and Alice.

"Did you seriously think I wouldn't notice you two are married?" I asked them, smiling jovially.

"Actually, yes." Alice said.

I held my hand to my heart and made an expression of hurt. "That hurts Ali. That hurts right here."

"It's just nobody at school's ever noticed, and they've been around us for a good year or so now."

I didn't lose my expression. "Alice. Your killing me here. How could you compare me to those idiots."

"Now that I think about it, I honestly do not know." she said mostly to herself.

For this next part, you must understand that the radio was on and Edward was probably still a little in shock over my knowledge of Alice and Jaspers marriage.

What happened, was Edward hadn't been looking where he was going, and accidentally did a skid on the front garden. A very bad one, a total wipe-out describes it better than a skid.

Then the radio started playing wipe-out, and 'HAHAHA WIPEOUT!' came from the radio.

"Edward, you just got dissed by your car." I said to him grinning. He was not best pleased.

Mom opened his door and said, "I wasn't planning on redoing the lawn Edward."

"Yeah, but you have to admit, it does look pretty cool." I had gotten out of the car, and the Volvo had left a mad pattern of swirls all over the grass. It was indeed pretty darn cool.

Emmett and Rose came running over from the jeep to see what the hell happened. "Bella, are you alright?" Rose said frantic. I had fallen over laughing. I probably looked like I was in pain.

"I turned so I was on my back and faced her, while trying to stop laughing. "Edward just got dissed by his car. And he crashed it, so to speak."

"He better not have broke it." she said, inadvertently directed at Edward.

"Hey! It wasn't completely my fault!" Edward tried to defend himself.

"How could it have been any one else's fault? You were driving!" she shouted at him, honestly confused.

"Bella surprised me!"

"Oh its my fault now?" I defended myself. "All I did was state the obvious. It's not my fault if you thought I had no brain."

"But nobody has ever figured it out!" he seemed honestly shocked.

"Then you must be surrounded by idiots. Which I am not."

"No you are not." he muttered, none to quietly, to himself in amazement.

"Don't say it like that! Do I honestly look like an idiot?" I questioned.

What he said next I was mostly lip-reading. It was 'no, not an idiot, an angel.' I couldn't help but blush. Surprising Edward once again. But he stayed as pale as ever, just suitably embarrassed looking. He didn't bother questioning me this time.

"Your car is coming with me to the garage." Rose told Edward. There was no asking at all. "Come on Bells, now's as good a time for your lesson as any." she told me smiling. She had told me she wanted to teach me about cars, and I had very willingly agreed. She had tried to teach Emmett, but it just didn't work. I guess she got a little lonely in the garage all alone.

I followed gladly.

Two hours later, Rose and I were laughing as we came back into the house. I had told Rose I knew about her marriage to Emmett and Alice's to Jasper. She wasn't quite as disbelieving as the others.

"Hi guys!" I said cheerily to them before landing beside Edward on the couch. Then changed my mind about how I wanted to sit. So I twisted myself around so my legs were hanging off the edge of the couch and my head was n Edwards lap. For feeling like an ice statue, he was really comfy.

Honestly, they all feel like ice statues, and they all have golden eyes, and they act, the couples at the very least, as if they've known and loved each others for YEARS! I'll figure it out later. Like when I think that it really matters what they are. I honestly don't care what they are, I judge people by how they act, not by what they are. They've been better than any human I've known, and they might, or might not, be human themselves.

Not thinking about that, thinking about the A-Team. I really want to see the movie now. I have to say though, poor Mr T, always getting tricked onto planes.

I turned my head to face Edward. He had begun stroking my hair. I gave him a questioning glance.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." he said to me sheepishly. I turned my head back to the A-Team marathon, but he didn't start stroking my hair again.

I turned my head back to face him again and told him that I didn't mean he had to stop. He smiled and started to stroke my hair again. I smiled contentedly.

And down goes Mr T, for the fifth episode in a row. You'd think he'd catch on, but no… a bit like how no matter how often I slip into a drawl, it's never questioned. Ack, they're probably just respecting my privacy.

"You'd think he'd get it at some point, wouldn't you" Alice said. Jasper and Edward were sitting beside each other in the middle of the couch, and Alice and I were sitting on either side of them with our heads on their laps and our legs hanging off the edge of the couch.

"To be fair, in that episode he did ask if the drink was drugged first." I pointed out to her.

"But he should have realised that they'd try to drug him! They always do!"

"Yes, but if he realised, it wouldn't be the A-Team then, now would it?" I said.

I didn't hear anything for a couple of minutes, except the A-Team, then she said, "Okay, you have a point."

"How many times do I need to tell you guys that I have a brain and I can use it!" I exclaimed, not really moving an inch though.

"Once more might do it." she said.

"I have a brain, I know how to use it, and I often do." I said with an 'it should be obvious' smile.

"Bella" came Jaspers drawl from above my head. I tilted my head upwards and a little more so I could face him. "Why do switch between a drawl and a normal American accent?"

"I could ask you the same thing." he looked surprised, so I added, "I thought we had an agreement which was your not to get surprised by my intellect."

He laughed lightly and asked me to answer the question. I consented. "Because, I only use my drawl when I'm comfortable, whether I want to or not."

He grinned, and said, "Same here." Edward though, was frowning slightly.

"Bella, I would hug you for what you just said, but Ermm…I'm kind of stuck." came Alice's soprano voice.

"I think I am too." I realised. I never thought about that when I sat down. And now everybody's laughing at us. Or it might be Mr T.

Getting up was just not working for me, so I rolled off the couch onto the rug, which I swear was an inch deep at least. It was so comfy! Almost as comfortable as the bed.

There was a small muted thump beside me, then Ali's small body pressed at my side hugging me to her. "Now I love you for finding a way off that couch."

"Yep, soft landing as well. I could sleep on this rug."

"But you have a bed." she said perplexed.

"And I'll sleep in that, but this rug is a welcome alternative."

"Oh, now it all makes sense. What do we do now?"

"Now, its eleven o'clock and I go to bed and sleep in it. Or I could sleep here on the rug."

I could see her hand point in the general direction of Emmett, and I heard her say, "Emmett! Bella's tired. Take her to bed."

"We should all probably go to bed. You guys have school in the morning, remember?" Dad said from…somewhere.

"And you have work honey." Mom said. There were groans all round. To be honest, I was almost asleep already, so it was a good thing I was in pyjamas already. And then I was in the air as Emmett, or at least I think it might have been Emmett, I couldn't be bothered to open my eyes, lifted me up and started taking me up to my room. My room…I still find that weird to say. I never got over saying 'my apartment', it made me feel uncomfortable, knowing that I was only borrowing it from somebody else. And here, my thoughts drifted into a peaceful sleep.

I could get used to this, I thought, spreading myself out along the bed, much the same as yesterday. Now this was always going to be comfortable. The day its not comfortable, is the day when I cant do it anymore.

Which might be soon if Alice keeps doing that. That, being bursting into my room with an armful of clothes. Today, she only had one outfit. Much the same as yesterdays, but where yesterday there was red, today there was green.

"Are you just going to dress me in the same with different colours for the rest of my life?" I asked her.

"No, just until I figure out which colour you look best in. I can only figure it out properly by having you in an outfit with a certain colour for a whole day." I nodded as if I got everything that she was saying and headed for the bathroom so I could have shower first. When I got out Alice guided me back in again so she could do my make up.

And once again I slid down the banister, but this time Edward was waiting to catch me. He spun me around and all the while I was laughing.

He set me down on one of the stools that surrounded the island in the middle of the kitchen. "I could get used to this." we said at the same time, smiling happily.

"What part?" Edward asked me.

"All of it I guess. Even you carrying me." I smirked. He had a mischievous look in his eye and I knew he was going to pick me up, so I grabbed the radio ducky just in time.

While he carried me bridal style to the car, I tried to find the rock station. As Die Die Die My Darling started playing, I was pretty sure I had found it.

I started singing along to it and Edward look at me with a slightly puzzled expression. "What? I could have put it on Galaxy or classic if I wanted you know. I just didn't want too."

"You like classics?" he asked, still puzzled. "Not many 17 year olds do."

"As I said, I could have put it too classics, but it's a it too sad for this morning."

"Not all classics are sad!" he protested.

"No," I said as I turned it quickly to the classic station. "But that one is."

"And Die Die Die My Darling isn't?"

"It was just ending. We Will Rock you is more than good enough for this morning." I told him as I started to tap his car to We Will Rock You while he tried to open the door with me in his arms. I wasn't even going to bother offering to stand up. He would just say no and say it was because of my injuries. That, and I was really liking being in his arms.

Alice came running from the house with a triple decker bacon sandwich in her hands and opened the door for Edward. Me. Both of us. ARGH!

"Hi Alice," I said after Edward sat me down in the passenger seat. "Thanks for breakfast." I continued, stealing the sandwich from her hands. She was holding it out to me, I swear! It wasn't theft! Or maybe it was…

And that was the most recent proof of my insanity. There is more constant proof, like how I have this nagging suspicion that my family aren't human. They could tell me their aliens, and I wouldn't give a damn though. I would just end up becoming a conspiracy theorist. I remember thinking I would be a very good conspiracy theorist the other night.

"Are you going to eat that at some point?" Alice asked amusedly from the back.

"Just admiring the craftsman ship." I said. Actually, I cant remember ever seeing them eat. Not at the hospital, not at breakfast, not at lunch, and I don't know about dinner yet because we forgot about that yesterday. Another thing to add to the list of things that are going to make me a great conspiracy theorist one day.

Before I knew it, my door was opened and I was staring up into Edwards funny golden eyes.

"Would you like me to carry you?" he asked.

"Your going to anyway." I pointed out.

"Probably. But its only polite to ask."

"On you go then." he smiled and picked me up.

I myself smiled, I wasn't to bothered about the carrying anymore, and lay my head on Edwards shoulder.

"Edward, don't look now but we're being followed." I told him.

"By?" he asked, obeying my wishes.

"A black cat with an electric blue streak from its nose to the tip of its tail." I swear, it was electric blue. I am not kidding.

"Oh god that cat."

"What's wrong with that cat?" I asked slightly suspiciously.

"Any body that gets within three feet is scratched with in an inch of his life!" he exclaimed.

"So, it's a freaky demon cat from hell that's gaining on us?" I asked.

"Its gaining?" Edward asked, slightly panicked.

"Yep, its right behind you. And, there she goes." the cat, quite obviously female with its grace and sleekness, climbed up Edwards back and over his shoulder onto my stomach where it curled up and purred contentedly.

I noticed from the scratches Edward had, it wasn't blood that was coming out, instead it was a thick clear liquid. I am now, officially, crazy.

But I ignored that, I had suspected it for quite a while, and cautiously began to stroke the electric blue and black cat. Its purring increased, and when I made to stop, it became more of a growl.

I didn't stop petting it.

"Does this cat have a name?" I asked Edward.

"No, not unless you count demon cat from hell as a name." he said amusedly.

"Then you do realise I'm going to call her streaky?" the cat purred louder. I swear it was a fecking tractor.

"Somehow, I don't think she minds too much." I swear he's going to start laughing soon. I swear quite a bit don't I?

"Go on. You know you want to. Laugh." I said, trying to wave my hands a little less emphatically than they seemed to want to. God only knows what would set that cat off.

He began to laugh. I knew he wanted to!

I was shaking, and Streaky was beginning to get up. So I told Edward to shut up. He tried, in all fairness to him he tried, but he failed.

"Jasper! Calm him down for me!" I shouted over to Jasper. Why the heck did I do that? What could Jasper do?

He looked surprised, but it wasn't the question I was expecting that he asked, he asked, "How did you know I'm an empath?"

I was surprised as well. "I'd like to know that too, but make him stop laughing."

"I thought you liked it when he laughed?" he seemed genuinely confused. Damned empath, sneaking in at my emotions!

"Yes, but the evil demon cat from hell is getting restless." I explained agitatedly.

"What's that got to do with you and Edward?" of course, he's standing behind us, he cant see Streaky. I ushered him over.

"Ah." he said as Edward stopped chuckling. "Why were you laughing at the agitated demon cat from hell? Who came up with that?"

"Bella. Along with Streaky?" Jasper started to chuckle as well.

"What's so funny about that?" I huffed.

"Streaky, and demon cat from hell? They're totally different! And for the same cat!"

"Ha! If you think that's funny, Alice's parents name their cat Miss Pippin Pippistrelle Snodgrass Fleabag Radar Houdini Diddums Dent Oscar Fifi Yoda Ambros Postlehue Marples." they both looked at me astonished. "I think I missed out a couple of names." I muttered afterwards. I just cant remember what they are!

"Could they not pick a name or something?" Jasper asked.

"Exactly! How did you know?"

"Guessed." he shrugged. "How did you know I was an empath?"

"I've already told you I don't know. I just knew." I shrugged. "And you know I'm telling the truth if you know what I'm feeling."

"I cant." he said mostly in annoyance to himself.

"It's true." Edward corroborated.

I turned on him. "How do you know that?"

"I'm a mind-reader." he muttered.

"What next?" I said, throwing my hands up, trying not to dislodge Streaky.

"I can see the future based on decisions." Alice chirped. "But that's it."

I shrugged. It wasn't the strangest thing I'd heard. Alice had told me she was a fearie, and I had believed her. In my defence, she gave me proof. No human would be able to do the things she could do, and iron wouldn't burn a normal human either. She had always seemed like there was something else she wanted to tell me though.

"You don't seem particularly surprised." Jasper noticed.

"No. Stranger things have happened." then I laughed, because the radio duck in my hands was playing Stranger Things Have Happened by the Foo Fighters. "Any way, you guys are strange." they got stiff after I said that, so I assumed they had something to hide, something they didn't want me to know. While I figured it out, I didn't want them on to me, so I added, "You're so nice to me, and you hardly know me."

"What if your strange to us"? Emmett said coming up behind me. "What with that hole in your hand." huh. I'd completely forgotten about that. You'd think it would be kinda hard to forget about as well.

I was staring at the hole in my hand, when Edward asked me what I was thinking. "So you cant read my mind then?" I teased.

"no." it seemed to be frustrating him.

"fine, I shall take pity on you, but it's going to be a very rare thing." I warned him. "I was trying to figure out how I could possibly forget about that hole in my hand. I mean, it's not exactly subtle."

"No one else would have noticed yesterday because Alice put you in fingerless gloves." he pointed out for me.

"Yeah, I suppose that would help me to forget."

"How did you get it?" Emmett asked, looking like he thought it was seriously cool.

"I'll tell you, but not today, and certainly not at school. Too many prying ears." I said. "Like those ones over there. My God they are some very large ears." I said, pointing to the approaching Jessica. She did have rather large ears, it must be because of all the gossip she listens too, not to mention the rumour mill. She works very hard there.

They all looked over to where I was, and groaned simultaneously. I laughed at them, and settled to watch. I don't know what the hell she was trying to pull off, but I can tell you what it looked like.

She tried to tell us with her eyes that her favourite hobby was to stalk us, then she tried to show us that the first job she wouldn't be accepted for was modelling, and then she showed us what we didn't need to see, her with an almost complete and utter chronic lack of clothing.

It was basically a see through sheet with two belts that were only 2 inches away from showing all of her ass and her plastic cleavage. It might have been a cool outfit, if the belts were 3 inches wider. At least.

I don't care how many see through sheets you cover yourself with, YOU CANNOT BE SANE AND ONLY WEAR TWO BELTS FOR CLOTHES IN FORKS! I probably could, I wouldn't, but my not so new found distaste for warm probably would let me wear the equivalent of two belts in Forks. Okay, no, not if I wanted to survive the day.

I had a solution, "THERMAL BELTS!" if you can have thermal underwear, then why not thermal belts?

"What was that about, love?" Edward asked, looking down at me. Did he just call me 'love'? I'll store that away for later.

"She's basically wearing two belts and a mostly see through sheet. The only way I can think of that she'll survive the day is that she must have thermal belts. It makes perfect sense."

Emmett was quiet for a while, in which the bell rang, and just before we parted ways to our separate classrooms, announced that it did indeed make sense.

I half dozed my way to lunch, either half dozing in Edwards arms while he carried me to class, or while he held me to him during class. Either way, I was loving it.

During lunch, I stretched myself across three chairs I had asked Emmett to pull over and lay my head in the lap of Edward, the closest person to my head.

"why are you so sleepy?" he asked, slightly amused. "You spent more than long enough in the hospital with little else to do."

"A)" came my tired argument. "You kept me talking and very interested in what you were saying, B) you have no idea how hard it was to sleep in chains." I said before I fell asleep, good and proper this time. I didn't wake up until halfway through Biology. It looks like the teacher never even noticed.

"What are we doing?" I whispered over to Edward.

"Cell structure."

"Cool." I'd already done it. Technically. What ever free time I had was spent in the library, as I have said before, but I tended to read things that we would learn at school. I wanted some sort of educated life, I was just amazed enough I actually knew how to read. I don't remember learning, and that still bugs me. Charlie and Renee probably still think I'm illiterate.

He raised an eyebrow, and I said, "I already know it."

A look of realisation dawned on his face and he told me that I could probably go to sleep for the rest of the day since I wouldn't be doing gym and our Biology teacher new sod all about what he was teaching.

I did.

The next time I woke up, I was on an extremely comfy couch, and ready to take on the world if they gave me a weapon big enough.

I smiled, and as was my new habit, stretched as wide as I could to get all the comfyness. I don't care if that's not a word. I think I hit somebody though. I opened my eyes slowly to see who it was.

It was Emmett, grinning down at me from above the couch. "Our own little sleeping beauty is awake!" he shouted cheerfully.

I grinned up at him as well, and tried to move. I couldn't.

I looked down and saw what was causing the problem.

"Scram." I said to Streaky.

I could hear voice in my head, one I imagined would belong to Streaky, that said, "I really don't want to move."

"I don't care if you want to move or not, I am!" I argued.

"You can move if you want, I'm not."

"I cant move if you don't move." I said, slightly confused now.

"Then you have a problem."

"Actually, you do." I said before forcefully throwing the cat from me and standing up. I was soon knocked back into a lying down position on the couch by a black and blue streak I aptly named Streaky.

"What will it take for you to let me up? I asked, propping myself up on my elbows.

"There is nothing you can possibly do that will make me get up within the next half hour."

I groaned. "I will do something very unpleasant to you if I lose feeling in my legs." I warned.

I realised that everyone had been watching with amusement my conversation with Streaky. It must have seemed one sided to them, as I'm assuming it was only me who could hear her in my head.

"You and me are having talks." I told Streaky firmly. She purred in consent, whether she realised it or not.

"what time is it?" I asked as I yawned.

"How can you still be tired?" Alice asked. "You've been sleeping almost all day."

"We're not never endingly hyper you know, and as I said before, I didn't get a lot of sleep in chains or hanging from the ceiling." I told her. They would hammer a nail through my hand, my left one usually, and leave me hanging from the ceiling if they had to go away. They would leave a stool underneath me, so that I was just inches away from being able to stand on it. A cruel mental torture in my eyes. "I could never quite reach." I murmured, trying, and succeeding, to get up to go to bed.

Soon I was lifted into the air, by Jasper this time. I suppose since all the other guys have had a go, why not?

As I lay down, I realised it would probably be strange to hear a cat talking to you in your head. Especially when it is currently telling you you're living with vampires, or, even more so, to believe it.

!"£$%^&*()_+_)(*^%$£"!

I woke up, and stretched out as far as I could again, idly wondering what colour Alice would put me in today, until I noticed a 5 inch figure by my pillow. Dark skinned, and with bright blue hair that was quite literally a water fall, and fey. I don't know how I know, but she is few. And she is Streaky.

"So, about this conversation we were suppose to have?" she prompted.

"And that I fell asleep in the middle of?"

"Yes, that one. We weren't even as far as the middle yet." she pouted. I had to laugh. She was adorable. She was like an Even smaller version of Alice, either of them. Mind you, Alice Monk was fey too, a changeling.

"How about you talk and I'll listen." I suggested as she continued to pout at me.

"Fine." she grumbled. "the Cullen's are vampires, I'm an African Pixie, the American ones are green you see, and you're an Angel, or THE Angel since your parents died."

"Hold up a minute there, what do you mean by Angel?" I asked.

"Well, your parents were Angel royalty, but they were killed by Fallen, and you were put in hiding so to speak. You are the most important Angel. I shouldn't need to tell you some things, those should be instinctive -"

"Like how I knew Jasper was an Empath?" I asked.

"Sort of, it's things that your subconscious realises,"

"And apparently sometimes forgets to tell my conscious brain." I added wryly.

"Yes, I suppose so, but it would be helpful with the political intrigue that's likely going to happen." she added, in a way she hoped was reassuring.

"what do the Fey have to do with the Angels?"

"Our species have been allied for millennia. It was your grandparents that began it actually."

"Grandparents? shouldn't there be several greats in front of that?"

"No, Angels are immortal until something kills them, and your instincts should tell you how you die. I suppose it's a good thing then that pregnancies are very rare among Angels."

"Is it the same with Vampires and Angels?" I asked, slightly hopefully too.

"Actually, it's exactly the opposite. There's been a feud between Vampires and Angels for as long as there's been an alliance between the Fey and the Angels. It's really the Volturi's fault. They want total control, although the Angels have proven time and time again that they are more powerful than any other species, and they keep abducting our people and experimenting on them, subjecting them to tortured almost as bad as what you've been through at the hands of Charlie and Renee."

"So, the Cullen's should actually hate me?"

"pretty much yes. Which is why it's so unlikely and improbably that you and Edward are mates." she grinned.

I would have protested, but the fact that I was really liking what she said, proved her right.

"So then they don't actually hate me?" I asked.

"No, on the contrary, from what I can tell, which being Fey is a lot, they absolutely love you." she assured me.

"Why wouldn't I know? If Angels are supposedly more powerful."

"it's kind of like a 'what you don't know cant hurt you' kind of thing. You didn't know you were an Angel, so you weren't an Angel."

"So now I know -"

"A whole lot a things are gonna seem different." she grinned maliciously.

"What things?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh, not much. Just the way things look will seem different. You probably wont notice for another couple of minutes, same with your hearing, oh, and not to mention the wings."

I raised my eyebrow at the small African Pixie.

"Don't look at me like that! It freaks me out." a raised eyebrow freaks her out? "you can make your wings go out of sight."

"How?"

"Just concentrate. Instinct should kick in once your body realises what you want to do. Your wings wont be completely out of sight, your shadow would still have the wings." she told me. "Don't bother looking for them yet, another couple of minutes."

"maybe not as long as that." I told her. Everything was slowly getting more and more focused, and the colours were getting richer and more vibrant, like everything was alive, full of life. my hearing was slowly getting better too, the sounds were sharper, and there was a humming undertone to it, adding more to the thought that everything was indeed alive. In the mirror across from me, translucent, white, feathery wings slowly became more opaque. Although, think of any colour, any colour at all, and there was at least one feather there that colour.

"Hmmm…interesting." Streaky said. I wonder if that is actually her name.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Not much, it's just that I wondered what colour your wings were. See, each different Angel has a different colour of wing, depending on their profession. It does change if they change their profession, but its unusual for someone to do that. Like for instance, Angels with black wings are Death Angels, they're -"

"Assassins for hire, or more commonly the ferrymen for the dead." when I said that Streaky looked smug when I said that. "Who are the Fallen?"

"Fallen Angels of course. Angels fall for all sorts of reasons, you can tell a Fallen Angel from any other Angel by their wings, their wings end up ripped and mangled from being separated from Heaven. They have this vendetta against Angels who haven't Fallen, it's why your parents were killed."

Suddenly Streaky the African Pixie was Streaky the cat again, and then just as suddenly Alice burst through the door with today's pile of clothes. I guess it's a good thing I hid my wings already.

"Morning Bella! Yellow today."

"I thought you loved me!"

"I do."

"Then why are you making me dress like a bumble bee?" I moaned, everything seeming even to me utterly normal.

"Because I love you, and I need to figure out what colours look best on you. I told you that already."

"Or you're just pretending you love me and you're torturing me with clothes." I pointed out teasingly as I made my way to the bathroom.

I was pleased to find out that even if my wings were still there, they weren't hindering me putting on my clothes. I suppose it makes sense. Angels need to wear clothes. Or at least, probably want to.

Streaky watched me slide down the stairs, and tried herself. It was rather amusing.

Mom though, was looking at the scratches and gouges on the banister with slight annoyance.

I watched Streaky out of the corner of my eye, and when their backs were turned, I could have sworn she winked at me, then when I looked back to the banister the gouges were gone.

'You have got to teach me that!' I mouthed to her.

I grinned and laughed at her antics, for she was now proceeding to chase a ping pong ball all over the downstairs.

I turned around, and crashed straight into the brick wall that was Edward. I looked up at him accusingly, and as he was about to go on defence I kissed him on the cheek and ducked behind him.

He stood there stunned for a while, I even managed to finish my breakfast, in the house! That's a first.

"Earth to Edward!" Emmett shouted to him at the same time as Alice did. They then turned to each other and started glaring and pointing to each other. They were just as, if not more, amusing than Streaky chasing the ping pong ball.

Mom came round the island in the middle of the oversized kitchen, which was probably a good thing since everyone was in it even Streaky and the ping pong ball, and engulfed me in a hug before shooing us all of to school.

That sentence sounded far too long in my head. Way too long. Oh well, I've thought it now, and if I forgot it I'd be worried. You know what, I'll just stop thinking about that.

"GAH!" I screamed.

"Sorry." Edward said, sounding not in the sorry for picking me up out of the blue.

"Don't say your sorry unless you mean it." I grumbled at him. "I can walk you know."

"Yes, you can, but I'd rather you didn't."

"Because you have a strange liking for having me in your arms and unable to get out of them, or because it would likely cause me pain to walk?" I asked accusingly.

"Some thing like that." he grinned.

"What part did I get wrong?"

"I like having you in my arms, and willingly not getting out of them." he grinned, again.

"Okay, I suppose I probably wouldn't get up even if you did let me."

"I'm sorry then, you've got to get in the car now."

"Right as I get comfy with you carrying me!" I cried as I got myself comfortable in his car.

"Don't worry, he'll carry you again as soon as the car stops." Jasper said laughingly to me. I am pleased, very pleased, with myself for knowing already that Jasper was in the car.

"How did you know I was here!" he sounded really upset that I knew he was there.

"You aren't as quiet as you thought you were." I grinned, not turning to look. "Hello Alice."

I heard a quiet little gasp, holding a lot 'ooh you little…' and 'how did you? What the…?' in it.

See, that's what comes of being a vampire. You get cocky.

"Shall we go?" Edward asked.

"You're the driver." said everyone else. He seems to forget that he's the driver a lot.

"Drive man drive!" Alice and I continued. I turned to face her and we both did pretty much the same thing she and Emmett had done just minutes ago.

Jasper was watching us with a large amused grin, and Edward was trying not to look, probably for fear of laughing.

I tried to keep a stern expression, but that just ended up in me laughing even harder than they were.

When the door opened, it was Jasper and Edward with their hands outstretched. Then they started to tickle me.

I was laughing so much that I kind of, well, fell out of the car. Alice had come prepared and had placed a pillow beneath where I fell. She knew about this!

Ironically enough, it was Emmett who came in to save me. Scooping me up and everything.

"I hate you guys." I attempted to glare at them.

"I'm hurt." both of the guys said with their hands over their hearts.

"What about me? I did nothing!" Alice protested.

"You knew!" I accused.

"I gave you a soft landing!"

"You could have gave me a warning!" our argument was deteriorating. Laughter was not in any way constructive to keeping a supposedly heated argument going.

"Why would I do that?" she seemed genuinely…guilty.

And thus went the rest of the day. Whenever I passed Alice, I would glare at her. Not completely evilly, just, semi-evilly.

And of course, Edward insisted on carrying me. I was past annoyed, now that I knew the reason for his over protectiveness. That, and I loved watching the jealous faces of the bimbos. It was so funny! Oh, the glares that make them look as if they're staring at the sun, and the fingers pointing from their eyes to mine making them look like they're in some cheesy 80's film, and the purring at Edward that makes them sound like deranged cats, and the constant 'fixing' of clothing.

Lunch was quite good too, the 'seducing' was vamped up, and I didn't mean to do that, but hey, I made a crappy joke!

Although, Rose was getting really annoyed. Uh oh, she was getting up. "No! Don't go to Bimbonia! It's too dangerous!"

That got her to sit down. "What…the…frick are you on about?"

"The Bimbos, wherever they go, Bimbonia goes with them. God only knows what they could do in their home territory." I said with a delicate shiver.

"Edward, your girlfriends crazy." she told him.

This ignited an argument between Rose and Edward. Rose's argument was that it was painfully obvious that we liked each other and that we may as well be going out, and Edward was trying to deny it. It wasn't working.

Right now, Edward was protesting that I probably wouldn't want to be his girlfriend. No, I don't, I'd like more, but you work with what you've got.

"Edward, of course I'll be your girlfriend." I said to him before making an attempt to get up. Edward snuck up on me, not hard since I was getting off of him, and picked me up again. As he grinned down at me, Rose proclaimed her rightness.

"I love you too, now walk!" I commanded.

"Your wish is my command." he smirked.

"Wow, your whipped already." said Emmett from behind Edward, and quickly overtook him.

"Yeah, just keep running!" Edward shouted to him. Then he looked down to face me, "I'll get him later."

"Of course you will." I said patting his cheek.

"I will!"

"Hey, I believe you." I said with a smirk of my own.

We got back home, and as per usual, there was dinner waiting for us. Now that I actually knew they were vampires, I asked to take my dinner upstairs, claiming fatigue. This way, unless someone wants to eat dinner too, they arent going to bother me, and I can have a talk with Streaky.

"Is your name actually Streaky?" I asked her.

"My parents weren't very inventive." she shrugged.

"Is there a God?"

"This is where the angels get very embarrassed." she told me. "They lost God around the year 1740."

"How the hell do you lose God?"

"I don't know, and it will continue to be a mystery until we find him again. There are Demons as well." she proffered.

"Your just trying to get off the subject of M.I.A God."

"Yes." she admitted with a grin.

"Tell me about them."

"Who, the demons? They're basically evil in corporeal form. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them. They're the embodiment of the evil on Earth, and some other planets. Good thing is though, if you kill a demon, the evil their embodying is killed too. Gone for ever. Of course, you can never really tell which evil it's embodying until you've killed it."

"Hang on, other planets?" I asked, amazed and shocked.

"Of course, Angels and Demons, and God too, are from a different planet, it's abandoned now of course."

"Why?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you. That happened eons ago, no one even remembers why, they assumed that something had happened, something that forced them to leave, and something that time forgot. As far as anyone knows, no one knows about it."

"Does anyone know where it is?"

"I do." she grinned. "And I know how we can get there."

"Can we go?"

"Maybe on your birthday."

"So that's you, got my birthday all planned out then, have you?"

"Yup. When is your birthday?"

I laughed at her, and answered Midsummer's Eve. She laughed as well. "That would be even more ironic if you were Fey."

"Talking of changelings, why did the Fallen kill my parents?"

"Because they were Angels, they weren't Fallen. They were Angel royalty, they stood for everything they had lost when they Fell."

"Why did you give me to Renee and Charlie?"

"It wasn't me that did it!"

"Not you specifically, but why was I given to them?"

"Because no one knew that they would do that to you. We only saw the face they showed to the public, kind, caring, desperate for a child. We thought we were doing all three of you a favour, giving you a home that would care for you, and them the child they've always wanted. Instead, we gave you another enemy." she had grown sombre by the end of her mini-speech. So we were both surprised when Rose burst through the door. Streaky even fell off the bed, which was probably a good thing as she was still in her pixie form.

"I cant take it anymore!" Rose cried dramatically.

"what?" I asked suspiciously.

"I try to teach Emmett something about cars, and it doesn't work!" she cried, plopping over-dramatically onto the bed. "I wanna give you a lesson."

"Because you cant teach Emmett?" I questioned.

"Yes, I got myself in a mood to teach, but I couldn't teach Emmett, so now I'm going to teach you. Comprende?"

"No, but lets go anyway."

"But if you don't understand my reasoning for teaching you, then how can I teach you anything?"

"Explain it again." I said walking to the banister to slide down it. The Cullen's all appear to have adopted my way of getting down the stairs, I even caught Mom doing it.

And day became night sometime while Rose was trying to explain why she was trying to teach me, and then proceeded to teach me.

"You've proved your point, you guys can come in now." Emmett said as he came in, looking much like he was being forced by Mom who was standing right behind him.

And we went in, words were exchanged, mostly being along the lines of goodnight. I wasn't listening much, I had decided I was tired. Well, it was decided for me. I really have to wonder just how much sleep I need to catch up on. I mean seriously, when does it end?

'probably tonight, don't worry. Your body's still getting used to being an Angel again.' Streaky told me. 'and before you ask, I can still speak aloud in cat form. I don't want to though.'

Am I really that predictable? Okay, yes, I probably am.

"Goodbye my dear family! I shall see you in the morning." I said and tried to stumble my sleepy way upstairs, until once again I was in Edwards arms. He enjoys that far too much.

I plopped on my bed and fell asleep in milliseconds.

_)(*&^%$£"!"£$%^&*()_

"Fuck off Streaky." I said without opening my eyes. All I knew was that it was very late at night, or very early in the morning. Streaky was walking all over me with her darned pokey little paws. God only knows what she was doing, and I don't know where he is so I can ask him.

"You have a lot of scars." she mused.

"I already knew that." I mumbled.

"No, I mean more than you can see. Something or someone is hiding them, and your emotions too I would bet."

"Why?" I mumbled, even more incoherent than before as I slowly fell back asleep.

"I think it's your parents, only because I don't know who it is, and I don't know where your parents are, but I still think it's them. I think they're hiding your other scars and your emotions so they don't freak about them, and Jasper would probably have a heart attack if he could feel your emotions. And yes, you can make it stop. Concentrate, and they should respect your wish to learn to do it for yourself, and also yes, you really are that predictable."

I don't even know what I mumbled, so Streaky had no hope. She had even less hope of waking me up again for another, oh, say, five hours? Five hours.

_)(*&^%$£"!"£$%^&*()_

"GAH!" I screamed as I was shaken awake by the hyper active pixie that wakes me every morning. What is with that? Must she dress me every day?

"Yes."

"You too? How can I be that predictable?" she just grinned in response. "I'm walking today."

"I know, I saw that too, that's why I woke you up earlier." today's colour was pink, luminous pink. Yiya.

Streaky was right. I was actually feeling more awake than I have been in a long time. I loved it.

Edward was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, until Emmett tackled him from his right, and Jasper from his left. I was laughing at them so much that I couldn't stop myself when I reached the end of the banister, hell, I didn't even realised I left it until I was on top of my brothers!

I saw Edwards hand with a package in it. Emmett and Jasper didn't seem to be willing to get up yet, and it had my name on it. So I took it.

Perfect. It was an ipod, with every song I can think of on it.

"Is there any music you didn't get on this thing?" I asked him with my eyebrows raised towards the pile of people I was sitting on.

All I heard was an unintelligible mumble, then I felt a shove. Can you blame my shocked expression when you think of where I would have felt this shove? I didn't think so.

"Holy foly fuckamoly!" I shouted as I fell.

I was given a half hearted glare from Mom and Dad. Together they made a proper glare.

Although, I couldn't find it in me to be scared. They weren't as scary as Charlie and Renee.

"Technically I didn't swear because fuckamoly isn't a word!" I defended myself.

Mom screwed up her face, contemplating what I said, and gave in to my logic, and sent me on my way, with Edward and a roll and bacon and sausage. I love Mom, if only for her cooking. Which it isn't, but it's an important contributor.

I was flicking through the ipod when Edward asked me what I was doing.

"We've got eight miles to walk, I need walking songs."

'Ooh! Put on Goldeneye! Or Another Place to Fall!' I was suspicious of Streaky, but I complied and put Another Place to Fall on my play list and put it on.

Edward had taken it from me, being the music expert, and was more successfully looking for walking songs. Not really important, but it did mean that I didn't drop it when I suddenly stopped with y hands at me sides, my lips purse and glaring towards the sky. All in reaction to the line 'see yourself as a fallen angel'.

I could swear to you that Streaky was laughing at me, so I glared at her.

"You evil little sneaky conniving pixie!" I said loudly, I was fine after that, all out my system.

Then a more Angel friendly song started, You Can Call Me Al.

We were singing along to it as we walked into the car park, it had come around again and I liked it. "He see's angels in the architecture! Spinning in Infinity, he say's 'Hey, Hallelujah!'"

People were staring, but I didn't give a damn, and Edward didn't seem to either. We kept singing anyway. I had to stop though when Emmett clapped his hand over my mouth.

"Emmett," I mumbled through his hand. "I know for a fact your singing is worse, and you sing all the time."

"How did you know about the bubble?" he asked conspiratorially.

"The what?" I tried to get past his hand.

"sorry, what was that you said?" Emmet asked.

"You might want to let her go Emmett." Rose told him. As he let me go, she apologised to me for him, knowing he probably wouldn't do it.

"How did you know about the bubble?" Emmett repeated.

I too repeated myself, asking once again, "The what?"

"The bubble! You were just singing about the bubble, how did you know about it?"

"Emmett, it's just a song! It means nothing!" I said, my hands flaring about wildly.

"Just you keep thinking that." all of us looked at him as if to say 'WTF!'.

We were still staring at him like this when the bell rang, snapping all of us, even Streaky, out of our Emmett induced stupor.

I jumped, I have to admit more than a little, and Edward caught me. He likes doing that far too much. Although I suppose this time he has an excuse, he was closest to me, and I was all set for a face plant.

And off to class we went even lunch wasn't as interesting as usual, they did the exact same as yesterday. It was getting boring, they had no originality here. But history was interesting, well, the class was extremely boring, who really wants to learn how to build a castle that doesn't even work right?

Streaky's way of staving off the boredom was trying to make me make whoever was locking my emotions and hiding the rest of my scars to stop it.

I was pretty sure I had managed it when there was a very sudden and ear piercing scream, a scream of utter agony, coming from Jasper.

This kinda caused me to fall of my stool, which caused him to scream louder. I tried to lock my emotions from him, and when his screaming stopped, I figured I had done it.

Why did Jasper scream as if he was in far more pain than I was in? I asked myself, but it was Streaky who answered.

'because you refuse to block out the pain,' I could just imagine her with a wry grin on her face. 'your used to it, it seems far less to you, but the only pain Jasper is really used to is the feeling of burning in his throat around blood, and no, not yours, and he feels all your pain, no matter how little it seems to you.'

That explains it then. Sorry Jasper!

'he cant hear you, you know'

I know, but still.

At the end of the day, as we were walking to the car, I told Edward that I was walking back. He groaned at me.

"Come on, man up!" I told him, lightly slapping his stomach, already heading to the path back home. "If I can do it with a bullet hole in my leg, you, a perfectly healthy guy, can walk 8 miles with me."

"You've still got the bullet in your leg, and your arm. It was too deeply embedded in the bone." he said quietly, as if he wasn't completely sure he wanted to tell me this.

"There you go, if I can do it with the bullet still in my leg, you can definitely do it." in hopes of appeasing him, I handed him the ipod to play about with. He wasn't finished finding walking songs. I walked to the songs that were playing, and he walked trying to find the songs I was walking to.

"What was up with Jasper in History?" I asked him. It might not have been my fault.

"He suddenly felt pain. A large amount of pain." he told me.

"really? From who?"

"You." he frowned. I quickly abandoned that line of conversation, and was thankful when You Can Call Me Al came on. It was a cheery song, and supplied a distraction.

As we were walking up the drive, a song popped into my head that I really wanted to play.

I quickly took the ipod from him, he began to protest as I scrolled through the songs. I prevented it by reminding him that he had given it to me.

"Ha! I found it!" I exclaimed as 'I'm Free' began to play.

"You cant walk to that song." Edward told me as I handed it back to him.

"Depends on how you walk." I grinned at him as I 'walked'. it was really more dancing, but I loved that song.

I continued doing this, until I stopped suddenly as I saw a police cruiser in the drive, and Charlie and Renee getting out of it. They got a job here.

"What? What's wrong Bella?" Edward asked me worriedly.

"I'm not as free as I thought I was." I told him, kissing him squarely on the lips before running around the back of the house.

I was hoping to find someway of climbing into my room without Charlie or Renee seeing me. Despite the pain I'm supposed to be in, I cant feel it, I just feel extremely good, even if I am kinda scared of Charlie and Renee.

AHA! I love you Mom, and your love of vines.

Just why did it have to be rose vines snaking up the house?

I began to climb up the vines, thinking that I've had enough exercise to do me the week, and trying to avoid grabbing onto the wicked looking, inch long thorns. I could all to well imagine a few of them stuck into my palm.

And by the time I got up onto the balcony I didn't even know I had, I did have a few stuck in my palms.

I pulled them out, embracing and overcoming the pain as usual, and ran my hands under cold water until the bleeding stopped.

I sat on my bed, looking around my room properly for the first time. It was pretty sweet. Sound system, CD's upon CD's upon books upon books upon DVD's upon DVD's. Lets not forget the absolutely HUGE TV and gaming systems.

I loved it. Almost as much as I love the Cullen's themselves, and that's saying something.

I hadn't heard the door closing or opening to signal Charlie and Renee leaving, so I looked through the books. Reading a book wont make much noise, none that Charlie and Renee could hear anyway, but playing a game or listening to music or watching a DVD would make too much noise and they would want to know who was up here. I would be exposed.

HAHA! Douglas Adams! I love you guys even more now. I had to stop myself from dancing, God knows what I would end up doing after that.

I was halfway through Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when I thought I should probably take a peek downstairs to see if they were gone yet. Or even better, send Streaky.

'all clear.' she already checked. I guess the sci-fi genius that is Douglas Adams kinda blocked out Charlie and Renee enough for them to leave.

I crept slowly down the stairs, listening to what they were talking about.

"Edward, where's Bella?" Dad was asking.

"I honestly don't know. We were almost at the house, and then she stopped and said she wasn't as free as she thought she was and ran away."

"Where to?" Jasper was asking.

"Here." I said. "Hi guys." I said waving.

"What happened to your hands?" Dad fretted, ushering me down the stairs. I shouldn't have waved.

"Nothing." I said, quickly putting my hands behind my back. It was completely useless though, when I got onto the couch Dad pulled them from behind my back and began inspecting them.

"Rose thorns." I mumbled.

"rose's!" Mom exclaimed.

"well, I had to get into the house somehow." I muttered.

"And the door wouldn't work?"

"It would, but then I would have to talk to Charlie and Renee." I explained.

"How did you know that's who they were?" Mom asked suspiciously as Dad began inspecting the bullet wounds.

We all turned to him as he gasped in surprise. "they're completely healed over."

He prodded the newly formed scars, and I gasped in pain. "just not completely healed I guess. Sorry."

It was round about then everybody noticed all the other scars that had been hidden by what Streaky assumes to be my thought-to-be-dead parents. I guess I hadn't really gotten around to hiding them yet. And I cant do it now, because they've already seen them. Maybe they'll just put it down to not noticing them before.

Thankfully though, nobody mentioned them, but Alice appeared to have had an idea.

"let's have a sleepover!"

"Alice, you do realise that I live here." I tried to point out.

"I know, but I mean, like we should all get sleeping backs and watch movies and share scary stories!" she bounced.

"Us too?" Mom and Dad asked.

"Of course, you need to tell us your stories." I think there was more implied behind that.

"At least wait until it gets dark. Scary stories don't work unless it's dark." I told her. She started bouncing again, and I think she was setting up the living room for her slumber party and organising munchies. I hope she doesn't seriously expect me to eat all of them.

She ordered us all into pyjamas so she could get everything ready without us in the way, and we didn't dare come down until it was dark. So all of us, even Dad and Mom, hid un the attic until she was finished.

It wasn't exactly horrible hiding in that attic though. It was basically one huge room. One huge awesome room.

There was a corner with lights and bean bags and bookshelves to hide whoever was sitting on the bean bags away from the real world and let them emerge themselves in whatever book they were reading.

There was also any games console you could think of, and an entire wall devoted to games. There was also a huge TV, I swear it wouldn't be out of place in a cinema, and a sweet sound system to go with it.

It was AWSOME!

We were all messing about with the Wii, oh the bad jokes I could tell, and we were playing Just Dance when Alice shouted really loudly from downstairs for us to get our asses downstairs, her words, not mine.

She had the blinds drawn and everything, it was just a little creepy. Perfect for scary stories.

"Dad, your first." she ordered. Alice was bossy. Maybe she's trying to make up her small stature. "Vampire stories!"

Dad gave a small laugh, and began his story. "Fine. There was once an old man, a Pastor, who made it his life's goal to rid the world of Mythical creatures, which at this time, around the 16th Century, didn't seem so mythical. People saw witches and vampires everywhere, even where there were none.

This Pastor would head raids and witch hunts, and many innocent people were killed, very rarely did they catch a real witch or vampire.

The Pastor had a son, who took over for him once the Pastor could no longer hunt the creatures he saw as unholy.

On his first raid he found a coven of vampires, a real coven of vampires. Well, they had their pitchforks, and their torches, and they gave chase to the vampires.

One of them however, must have been thirsty, as he turned and began to chase the Pastors son, biting him and changing him.

The son writhed in silent agony for three days, changing, and when the three days were up he attempted to end hiss own life, but he could not do it. Not because he lacked the willpower, he truly believed that he had become an evil creature who must drink the blood of human men. He did not wish to do this, and tried to end his life, and physically could not do it, it was impossible.

He tried to starve himself, but after a length of time he couldn't go on, he pounced on deer, and found it satiated him. He could live like this, had he not eaten venison in his former life?

And his undead life truly began."

Ahh! Now I get it. They're telling the stories of how they came to be vampires, and pretending they're just scary stories they've made up.

"Your turn Mom, then you two can go if you want."

"How can I turn that down? There was a woman, she was married, not to the most, shall we say gentlemanly of people, and she was pregnant. Twin boys. But they were still born.

She was so devastated she threw herself from a cliff, seeing no reason left to live. Her husband cared so little for her she may as well not have been married, and the two bright sparks that had entered her life never lived to love her outside the womb.

She was so close to death when the paramedics got to her, they thought she was already dead and took her straight to the morgue.

She wasn't quite dead yet, and a vampire, in a sense saved her life by changing her. She found a mate in this vampire, and a son in the vampire he was travelling with.

Can I go now?"

"You may leave." Alice said, almost like the oracle caterpillars in Alice in Wonderland. "Your turn Edward."

He groaned and spoke quickly and curtly. I don't blame him. His story didn't make for a very good Slumber party scary story.

"There was a family, a father, a mother, and their son. This was the year 1918, in Chicago, and the Spanish Influenza was an academic at the time. The father was claimed by the disease, and the mother became ill, and soon after so too did the son.

The mother was being treated by a doctor, a doctor who was a vampire, and she seemed to know what he was, as she asked the vampire doctor in her last few minutes to do everything he could to save him, even change him.

Unfortunately, it came to that, and he was changed." that part, seemed pretty boring, but it got better after he continued. "the vampire doctor became like a father to him, but after a while he began to wonder why he couldn't drink human blood. He could read minds, he could tell which minds were truly evil and horrid, why not drink from those men? So he went off on his own and drank from the worst minds he could find.

But after a few years, he began to realise that by doing this, he was being just as bad as they were, and sought forgiveness from the vampire doctor and the mate he had found, and was given it too. The end."

"Meh. Was okay. Rose, your turn." Alice is loving this. She gets to be bossy. Why do I love her again?

"My story begins with a family as well. A mother, a father, and one daughter. This was a very rich and very well respected family. The young girl had everything she could ask for. She was even engaged, to the respectable son of an even more respected and influential family, the Kings.

She thought she had everything, even love. One night though, she was walking home, it seemed such a lovely night, she thought she would be safe.

She saw her fiancé on the way, him and some of his friends. She realised they were drunk. This surprised her, because he had always said he didn't like champagne, she hadn't realised he liked something far stronger.

They raped her, taunted her and raped her. She abandoned any hope that she might have had for being found, even wished not to she felt so horrible.

But she was found, by the mysterious doctor. Turned out, the doctor was a vampire, so was his mate, and his son.

She took revenge on the men that raped her, she killed them, but didn't spill a drop of their blood, determined as she was not to drink their foul blood. She never drank human blood."

Poor Rose. I was tortured, and that was horrible, but rape? That was truly disgusting, especially by your fiancé. what, can he not wait until they're married? Disgusting pig.

"Emmett! Your turn!" she was obviously trying to make sure Rose wouldn't wallow to much in her self pity.

"I don't wanna." he mumbled.

"Emmett!"

"fine." he grumbled. He wasn't in any way inconspicuous about it. "I was in a bar, and I made a bet that I could wrestle a bear. I did wrestle the bear, but I lost." his voice became quieter as he said this. I don't think he really wanted to tell anyone this. "Rosie found me and carried me back to the house so Carlisle could change me. And we're mates."

Rose, and everyone within striking distance hit him. "OW!"

"Jazz, your turn." Alice sighed.

"I was a Major in the Civil War, and there were Vampire Territory Wars going on at the same time. They would change humans, and use them while their blood from when they were human was still fuelling them and making them stronger and faster than your average vampire, and then when they became just your average vampire again, they were burned, and the whole process started again.

I was out on patrol when I came upon three women, vampires, though I didn't know it at the time. They changed me, made me a general in their own army. I wasn't killed after the first year like most, I was too valuable, what with my skills in combat, and controlling emotions, calming the soldiers.

I had a friend, a true proper friend, Peter, and he had found a mate in one of the newborns set to be killed. That's why he wanted to run away from that life. I wanted away because I was tired and to be honest depressed at feeling the fear and resignation of my meals. I joined Carlisle, after finding Alice, but Charlotte and Peter are still on the traditional diet."

Alice face palmed herself, and began her own story. "I woke up a vampire, in an Asylum in Biloxi, with no idea who or what I was. The only reason I knew was because of the woman in the cell, because that's really the only thing I could call it, in the cell beside me. She told me what I was, that I had told her my name was Alice, and that she was dieing and wanted me to drink her blood after she died, so that she wouldn't be changed, and my thirst would be sated. I didn't want to, but I had to. And that is my story." poor Alice too. How about I just stick with being sorry for them all? Because each has gone through their own personal hell.

"So I guess your all vampires then." I said with a specifically nervous laugh. Like I would be nervous or scared about that.

"No! They were just stories." Edward tried to defend.

"That Emmett Alice and Jasper were telling in the first person is just a coincidence then?" I challenged.

"Yes, they get very into their stories."

"Uhuh." I said sarcastically with my hands crossed over my chest as if to dare him to try again.

"Yes, Bella, we are vampires." Alice said, with a whack aimed at Edward.

"Fine with me."

"How can that be fine with you? We are vampires, we kill to live." Edward exclaimed.

"You kill animals to live, and you've been a damn sight better to me than some humans. I don't give a flying monkey shit."

"Flying monkey shit?" Alice questioned. "Never mind, it's your turn."

"Okay then. We shall start, with Angels. The Angels came from another planet, they travelled here, and their leaders were killed by Fallen Angels. Their child was sent to live with a human couple who claimed to desperately want a child, and who fooled even the Angels and their allies the Fey into believing they were truly nice and loving people. They weren't.

The child was hung from chains in the basement. They, for lack of a better word, tortured her. They had a fire that was constantly on in the basement, and they would cauterise her wounds with a red hot poker, claiming that they didn't want their little child getting sick, they only reason they wanted that was so their torturing wouldn't be stopped under the threat of her dieing. Because of that fire she came to, dislike, warmth.

They weren't exactly Christians. They quite frankly hated the religion. They would make their own fun of it by nailing her to the wall through her hands and her feet. Once when they left for a week they left her hanging from the ceiling of their basement by her left hand, with a stool beneath her feet just an inch too far away.

They knew just how long she could go without food, and just before she died of hunger they fed her as little as they had too, they also knew how long she could go without water, and forced her to drink boiling water before she died of thirst. They liked the way her screams sounded with a blistered throat, though before she ran away she had gotten used enough to the pain that she no longer screamed.

They would heat screws and slowly turn them, covering her with salt after they had been just as excruciatingly taken out.

They would do all manner of painful things.

They had friends, friends with a child, a changeling child that they loved to torture. First it had been to learn how to get their child back, but then they began to enjoy it.

They would have each other over to their basements and bring their changeling with them and exchange torture methods.

One day, the two changelings, by that time great friends, ran away. Unfortunately her parents were out in their car and ran her over, killing the exhausted faerie instantly. The Angel carried her friend to a meadow, a perfectly circular meadow, with a river running through it and flowers and long grass everywhere, encircled with trees. The Angel buried her friend in the middle of it, and wept and mourned for that day, but knew she had to keep running and get as far away as she could the next day.

She found a town in Alaska that seemed far enough away from her imprisonment in Texas. She found a bar that let her work there, and an apartment for rent that was owned by a woman who asked no questions, just for $30 a month.

In her spare time, she would either be at the library, or getting extra cash from the bar, don't worry, she wasn't a prostitute, but she was a bit of a pick pocket. It was very rich people who went to that bar, they weren't going to miss a few dollars here and there. She didn't think they did, since they kept coming back, and kept getting close enough for her to steal a few dollars.

Then the couple found her, the man had been a police man, he had somehow even managed to become the chief of police, and therefore had a gun and shot her twice.

A family of vampires found her, took her in and to their home in Washington, and cared for her in a way she didn't even think existed on this planet.

She even found a faerie that decided she was her friend, and often took the form of a black and blue cat. Everything seemed perfect, but then Charlie and Renee moved to Forks." wow that took longer than I thought it would.

"GAH!" I screamed as I was tackled by just about everyone who was still downstairs.

After a few minutes, it was only Alice who was still clinging. She was also the reason I still couldn't get up. I was tempted just to go to sleep right here, our stories had taken us to about 11 o'clock, but that was far too early to go to sleep. So I tried to talk Alice into letting me up.

"Come on Alice, it's fine. I'm a lot happier." unfortunately, my use of her name didn't help. Oh yeah, I forgot she feels guilty about her name being the name of my abused friend who died.

"Alice is probably happier now. She always told me she would be happier back in the ground. Where her people came from. I told you, I'm over it." she seemed better now, but she had more mood swings than Jasper. And that, is saying something.

I chose another tactic, giving her something to do. "Could you open the blinds Alice? I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic. You know, dark room…" I stopped as she suddenly jumped up and rushed to open the binds.

And finally, I can get up! I know it was a bit of a dirty move, but it worked. As she rushed to open the blinds and stop my 'claustrophobia', I found a DVD to put on. I very happily found Sherlock Holmes. I love that film. I think. This instinctually knowing stuff really helps, but I want to test it out.

For instance, these 'instincts' are telling me I'm really not going to like that weird looking green stuff, and when I tried it, it was indeed truly horrible.

Maybe that's how I knew how to read.

But no matter the how, I NEED WATER! That stuff was disgusting, I need to get the taste out. NOW!

I ran as fast as I could towards the kitchen and filled the largest glass I could find with water and ran back. I looked at the clock and realised I was pretty damn fast. Less than a second.

I took a small moment to appreciate the water, and drank it all. Everyone was staring at me.

"Thirsty were we?" Rose was the first to say.

"No, that green stuff is absolutely horrible." I told her.

"Then why did you eat it?" Emmett asked. Rose hit him upside the head.

"I didn't bloody well know, now did I? well, I did, but I wanted test if I was right because I've never tasted it before." I said, then I grimaced and said, "I was really right."

"Aw, poor Bella." Edward said pulling me to him, in a slightly patronising way. Why do I love him again? But I couldn't stay angry for long though, Sherlock Holmes was funny.

At some point, I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was very pleased to note that the sun was streaming through the windows, but everyone had gone upstairs. Probably to let me sleep in peace while they were doing God only knows what all night. You know, this God is Missing thing is going to really confuse me, sometime really soon. Like now.

I yawned widely and probably loudly, and realised that someone, someone being Edward, was in the kitchen, cooking something. As one often does in a kitchen.

He came into the living room, now empty of all the 'sleepover' supplies, and started to say something. I don't know what it was though because I fell off the couch laughing.

He was sparkling! Ahhh…that is rich, that is…scary vampire that wants to suck your blood, SPARKLES! Ha!

Edward was frowning at me, and that made me laugh more. He really wasn't helping.

"Stop…that…too…funny!" I tried to tell him between laughs.

"Stop, what?" with his brow furrowed in confusion, he looked even funnier.

"Damn you!…I need…to…breath…I think." I managed to get out, barely.

"Your floating." Edward said, suddenly very surprised.

"No, I would know if I was floating." I said, now serious. He was hallucinating, surely that isn't a good thing. "I am not floating, my back wouldn't hurt so much if it wasn't touching the ground."

And then realisation dawned. My wings were still invisible. It would seem like I was floating to him. Somehow, that just made me laugh again, harder than before.

Its just very hard to take someone seriously when they're sparkling. Emmett came down the stairs at that point, and it did not help.

"NO!…go away!…stop sparkling…at…me!" I got out between laughs. Have you ever felt that way where you've been laughing so long your not even sure why your still laughing? The thing is, I felt like that before, but then huge Emmett comes in sparkling like a gay boy.

I staggered over to the windows and tried to pull the blinds. Okay, that's being generous. I crawled. But on the upside, I managed to close them and the gay boys stopped sparkling.

I sat leaning against the window and I was still chuckling when everyone else came down to see what had put me over the cliffs of insanity. I think I may be quoting Princess Bride. Huh. I don't even know what that is.

"What's Princess Bride?" I asked.

"A film, why?" Alice asked suspiciously.

"I think I quoted it is all." I explained.

"What were you laughing at?" Jasper asked. I pointed accusingly at Edward and Emmett.

I think they were all taking turns to ask questions. It was Carlisle's turn now. "What did you two do?"

"We did nothing!" they both defended simultaneously.

"They sparkled like gay boys!" I shouted laughingly.

"Oh! I get it." Esme said. I guess it's Rose's turn now.

"I made you breakfast." Edward said. So maybe it isn't Rose's turn.

I propped myself up on my elbows, because I had kinda slid down the window, and made an 'oooh! Gimme!' expression.

Now it was their turn to laugh, and, well, they all took a seat and watched me eat my breakfast.

"Mom did not make this." I said very definitively.

"How did you know?" he asked sarcastically. Probably referring to the fact he told me it was him who made it.

"I know this because it's awful." I said. Although, I'd had a lot less and a lot worse, so I finished it anyway.

Abruptly I announced that I was going for a walk. I felt a need for a walk. I even knew which direction I wanted to walk in. I just didn't know what else was in that direction. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Maybe there's a bridge in that direction.

"You cant go out! Your not even dressed! And you've got to be feeling something from the walking you did yesterday." Edward said, trying to stop me. "At least let me come with you."

"Have you seen yourself lately? I knew you were going to sparkle and I still tripped at the top of the cliffs of insanity." I said. He looked a little afraid to go further than the porch as well. I can think of a few reasons why.

"Stop!"

"Not a chance!" I shouted back as I turned to face him. "I'll be back." I continued in a terminator impression. I haven't even seen the films. This is going to get annoying, real fast.

I dithered a little when I hit the road, but I turned left, away from Forks.


End file.
